


Encroach

by lucitae



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-25
Updated: 2013-12-25
Packaged: 2018-01-06 03:10:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1101687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucitae/pseuds/lucitae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On the first day of 2012, Kyungsoo finds himself in another body.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Encroach

**Author's Note:**

> For round 30 of [exopromptmeme](http://exopromptmeme.livejournal.com/8703.html?thread=3965439#t3965439), prompt: “I had a dream where every person, at exactly midnight on new years following their 22nd birthday, they possessed the body of their soulmate and people ran around trying to figure out who they were so that they could find each other, and they left notes for the body’s owner to find with their address. And there were some language gaps so people had to translate it and travel to different countries carrying the notes they were left, and it was great” ([credit](http://mspoffin.tumblr.com/post/64555292163))
> 
> In which I totally misunderstood the prompt until it was too late and realized, by the time I was finished, that there is a reason behind my lack of math skills. Timezones and Yifan's age are irrelevant for the sake of sanity. I apologize for 2AM grammar and unbeta'd madness.
> 
> Dedicated to my soulshipmate [Khae](http://khaenine.tumblr.com/). Have a very Merry Christmas!

> "The greatest love stories are not those in which love is only spoken, but those in which it is acted upon."

 

**2012**

Sunlight creeps through the curtains, spilling gold across the carpeted floor as Kyungsoo wakes up to the warmth of a new day. He blinks, rubbing his eyes to double check because he can swear that he was sober the night before and yet the room has been altered. Rather than the white linen he is used to, it is a shade of dark blue- navy. He has blinds, not curtains, especially not these thin, white ones. It takes a minute or two to orient himself to the new room, finding himself tsking at the arrangements and getting up to instill order upon the desk.

It isn't until his toes dig into the carpet does he realize that those aren't his feet either. They are far too large to be his. He takes a quick glance at the full length mirror in the corner of the room, lips pursing at the sight. His body is much lengthier, his dream height, hair bleached with an unnatural tinge of blonde, and if he reaches up to his ears, he can feel the spots where metal has pierced skin. One small turn to dress himself, his eye catches sight of a tattoo on his arm. A simple pattern, one he wishes to find the meaning to, inked simply in black.

Curiosity gets ahold of him as he slips on black jeans and a simple white shirt. Kyungsoo starts to rummage through drawers of the desk, settling down in the chair and sorting through files. He doesn't understand the implication of this body switch but he wishes to get to know the other better. Luckily, the other seems to speak English. Kyungsoo can't but he knows enough to pass by. On other sheets there are characters of some unknown language, hanji- if that was what it was called. Japanese? Chinese? He settles for Chinese as his fingers trace the pen marks on the top right hand corner of the page. The rest is gibberish to his brain but the markings he can identify as a name. Finger pads firm against paper, feeling every niche where pressure builds on the tip of a pen and engraves the name to paper. 凡

His eyes shift to an ipod on the pile of scattered papers, eyes grazing over the text only to pick up the music player to scroll through the other's tastes. Half of the artists he has never heard of in his life but that is only to be expected. There is an initial disgust in the notion of placing someone else's ear buds into his own ear but it is soon drowned out by the beats and foreign lyrics that weave together into a melody that he enjoys immediately. He allows himself to be carried away by music, throat humming along to the tune, cheek resting against papers as he closes his eyes.

*

Three strong raps on the door and he finds himself back in his own room. Simplicity and familiarity engulfing him. Kyungsoo groans in response, covering his eyes with a hand as he tries to go back to sleep.

So it was just a dream. A figment of his own imagination.

The door creaks open and he hears the shuffle of feet, one wearing socks because his brother has always been afraid of the cold.

"Kyungsoo?" tentative, hesitant. Kyungsoo can't help it when his lips curl to betray his emotions.

"Yes, Seungsoo?" he questions before dropping his arm down and sitting up, staring at his elder brother. There is a nervous noise of throat clearing before the other begins.

"Were you... yesterday..." he trails off, sheepish as he rubs the back of his neck. Kyungsoo's eyes flicker to the alarm by his bedside, reading the January 2nd in red. Where did New Year's go? "By any chance," another pause and his brother shuts his eyes tightly, "in another body?"

If it had been any other situation, Kyungsoo would have laughed. Perhaps why Seungsoo was so nervous in confiding the one he trusted the most.

"Yes."

A sigh of relief escapes his brother's lips as he holds a hand over his chest, a smile gracing his lips with ease. "Oh god. I thought I was insane. So what was she like?" he questions before sitting down, uninvited, on Kyungsoo's bed. It ruffles the perfect cream-colored sheets and Kyungsoo tries not to protest.

"She?"

"Yeah. I woke up in a girl's body. Imagine the shock!" His brother's eyes are wide as if to recreate yesterday's scene. "I mean she had a nice body and all but still- it felt extremely inappropriate. She is an Asian girl with long hair up to here," demonstrating with his hands, turning to place a finger in the middle of his spine. "It was well taken care of and she had soft cheeks and lips. Her desk was neat and organized and shelves full of books." Okay, he was getting way too carried away to the point that Seungsoo now had a dreamy expression on his face whereas Kyungsoo's palms started to collect sweat.

"I think I've seen her before. In glances, I mean. From a distance. I think she goes to my university." His brother looks at him in the eye, suddenly serious.

"But you're graduating this year," Kyungsoo quietly reminds him. Seungsoo is twenty-two and well on his way to becoming a medic.

"I still have a few months." A reassuring smile that has Kyungsoo wishing he had half the amount of confidence Seungsoo possesses. "I think she is the one." Kyungsoo wants to know how one will ever know but he doesn't question it.

"So," his brother begins and Kyungsoo groans internally, preparing himself for the interrogation, "how was your girl?"

Except it wasn't a girl. But he doubts he can say that and get away with it. So he swallows thickly before answering vaguely about a tall Asian girl who is not Korean.

*

"Welcome back!" his friends chime in, face looming too close and despite his joy in seeing their familiar faces, he swats at them for the sake of continuity. The sky falling would be more realistic than Kyungsoo initiating a hug.

"Missed you too," Chanyeol says before ducking out of the way and Kyungsoo crosses his arms to indicate his displeasure. His lips give him away.

"So what did you do on New Years?" Baekhyun questions after they have found places to seat themselves and the other two look at him expectantly. Kyungsoo must have looked extremely confused for Jongdae to interrupt with an explanation: "You said you had other things to do. In a text. In _English_."

"Busy," he starts before catching Jongdae's eye roll and Baekhyun's dramatic mouthing of _busy_. He continues before Chanyeol can lapse into a dramatic reenactment of what they had guessed Kyungsoo was up to. "I was..." hesitating before continuing, "somewhere else." He cringes at how vague the reply was. "Didn't you guys wake up to find yourself in another body?" it rushes out of his lips before it is too late to consider the responses. For once, all three are quiet.

And then they laugh.

Heat creeps up into Kyungsoo's cheek as he flushes. Chanyeol has that horrible obnoxious laugh and Baekhyun is wiping away tears. He stares at the clock until the laughs settle down to hiccups and centimeter wide eyes.

"If you were sick you could have just told us." There is a clasp on his back and Kyungsoo's lips flatten into a thin line as he studies the pattern on the floor. His fingers curl into a fist, shoulders rigid before he gets up and excuses himself.

He doesn't understand the implications of this. Was it just a dream? Has the Do family gone insane?

 

**2013**

Rays of light glare from his left side, illuminating his surroundings while blinding him simultaneously. Kyungsoo groans and rubs his eyes in order to process his current surroundings. The computer screen stares down at him, cursor blinking angrily in a cell as if expecting numbers or letters to be inserted. He rests his chin against the desk while staring at the numbers on the screen. An excel spreadsheet filled with numbers and at the top of each column is an English word. It doesn't take long before he can recall these words as team names for basketball. Chanyeol screams them far too much for comfort. One would have expected a high school senior to grow up by now but age has nothing to do with maturity.

He scans the room, realizing it is the same room he had been in a year ago. An even he had placed away this memory in the recesses of his mind, discarding it as some crazy dream.

Everything is much more organized. The sheets are tight over the bed, smoothed down as if no one has slept there for a while. There are no longer pieces of paper littering the desk but rather a simple laptop. To the side of the desk, on the floor, is a black briefcase, the perfect size for a laptop. The closet doors are wide and hold only empty hangars and two suits in synchronized black. He looks down to find limbs far too long, a white collared shirt buttoning in his torso and black slacks adorning legs. Turning to his side, he can see the vague outline of an insect on his forearm. Fingers find the space between eyebrows and gently rub the area thoughtfully.

It is a relief to know that he is not insane. But nothing can explain such occurrences. He prays that this will not be a continuous trend. Missing New Years day sucks.

He scans the room once more, an odd feeling as if something has been displaced stirs in his chest. Kin to fear when he returns to his room and finds that his parents have been through it for "clean up". Kyungsoo's eyes settle upon a shelf. If his memory did not fail him, it should be packed with golden figures, awards of all sorts of accomplishments. Most notably, ones with balls and hoops and a statue playing basketball. The shelf is empty with a thick layer of dust.

He stretches, doubting his own mind again as he decides to get out of clothes too dressy for home.

Three strong raps on the door. "Yifan?"

Kyungsoo freezes with his finger on the first button.

There is a period of silence before the female implores with a "Kris?"

Kyungsoo clears his throat to indicate his well-being and then attempts in English: "I'm changing." Thank god he had paid attention to foreign language classes. Most of it due to his affinity for western music. It is a blessing that he has been consistently praised at his accurate pronunciation.

"等一下出來吃早餐。"

It is a good thing he picked up Mandarin upon entering college, much to his friends" dismay.

"I thought you didn't care for Mandarin" had been their question. "I still don't" had been his retort. But he listened to the part of his brain that told him it was of dire importance that he take lessons in Mandarin. He was right.

The sentence doesn't fall on deaf ears. Kyungsoo picks up "breakfast" and makes deductions from there. The voice is distinctly female but weathered by age. He wonders if this is 'Yifan's' mother.

He's rummaging through the closet for a t-shirt and jeans when he sees a tote in the darkest corner. Curiosity gets the best of him as he leans down to drag it out. The lid is taken off with ease and he settles down on the floor, carefully picking through its contents. The missing trophies had been stashed inside, as gold as they had been in their heyday. Between the gaps are letters crammed in every side but miraculously not crumpled. They are all written in English, hoping that "Kris get well soon~" in neat handwriting with curly signatures or "Get better bro" in rough sketches with initials. He sifts through more contents until he gets past the one sentence waste of paper and money to the lengthier cards attempting to console Kris of his lost.

Ten more minutes and Kyungsoo feels like a detective, piecing together someone else's life story. Without permission. He is intruding upon someone else's life and the amount of pity in his heart just makes everything worse.

Achilles tendon rupture, the end of a promising professional basketball career, a dream so close and yet so far away because of one stupid injury. The story of a tragic hero facing his mortality.

Kyungsoo is startled when the door opens and he sees an elderly woman peek in with an apologetic expression. She must have once been beautiful- no, she _is_ beautiful. Grace imbued in her limbs and kindness is in the wrinkles beside her eyes. Not unlike his own mother but different somehow. Older. Her eyes are, as if she has seen and experienced far too much. His heart clenches upon itself, feeling guilty and shameful of his own behavior.

"我捨不得扔掉這些。不要生氣。" she explains. Kyungsoo only catches "throw away" and "don't be angry". How could he be? He has no right to. He offers her a smile and gets one a hundred times more beautiful in return.

"Come," she beckons and he follows.

The rest of the day is spent with someone else's mother. Guilt is piled into his chest as he nods his way through; trying not to let it slip that someone else is inside her son's body and that she is speaking to a stranger. He probably failed but she gave no indication of discovery. He feels bad that on a day set aside for family, she's not spending it with her son. But he picks up bits and pieces of this Yifan person, his aspirations, his occupations, and his family secrets.

He wanted to be an NBA player but due to injury he opted for something close to his field but stable enough to provide for himself: world tour statistician due to his grasp in various languages. From what Kyungsoo can tell it is also a means to provide for his mother laced with the fear of disappointing her. Kyungsoo wishes to say that it would be impossible. She has the kindness and forgiveness of a saint and would trade anything to see her son happy.

Before he goes to bed, he settles down in the chair he had dozed off on a year ago. Fingering a piece of paper, he measures the weight of a ballpoint pen in his right hand before deciding upon what to write. In English because Mandarin is still too much of a challenge for him.

_My name is Do Kyungsoo._

It is an odd start and most likely the other would have found out by now. But introductions seem to be the most proper way to start a letter.

~~_I don’t know how long this will last_ ~~

He should have used a pencil so he could erase the mistakes. Kyungsoo has no clue how long this exchange will last and how many times he will be in Yifan's body but he assumes that the trend will continue until magic happens.

_I apologize for spending your time with your mother. She's a lovely person._

It is extremely awkward writing such a sentence down but he decides to just leave it there because crossing it out would still be futile. He wants to write down things like _You should spend more time with her_ but who is he to direct the other on his choices in life. Instead, as if his hand has a mind of his own, words form on the piece of paper:

_I'm sorry for my eccentric friends. They can be overbearing at times. Hopefully, you would have learned their names if you were so unlucky as to encounter them. Chanyeol is the loudest one, Baekhyun is playful and packed with a powerful punch, and Jongdae is the one with a mischievous look in his eyes. Don't mess with him._

_My brother... he's not usually like that. I believe what has happened with us might have happened with him. I'm not positive though._

_I apologize if you didn't understand a word of what happened today. It must have been confusing and disorienting. Please don't worry about my image, I'll find a way to fix it._

And by the way it means a concussion that would render his friends to forget about today, but he leaves that out of the message. He rereads it for grammar not for content because he would have balked and chucked it into a bin a long time ago. He leaves a line out and leaves it at that.

 _I hope one day I'll be able to see you in person_ remains a thought in the back of his mind.

*

"Seungsoo?" he peeks from the doorframe of his elder brother's room, taking in the unmade bed and the thick books scattered on the floor. His brother stares at him groggily with an "hm?"

"Did you," fidgeting with the hem of his shirt before he flattens his palms against his abdomen, "switch bodies yesterday?"/p>

His brother responds by shaking his head. "I mean it would be kind of weird. I spent yesterday with her so..." he pauses as realization dawns upon him. "Did you?"

Kyungsoo nods and then Seungsoo whispers a "that's why," leaving Kyungsoo to wonder what damage Yifan did in his body.

"Where was I," indicating his physical body, "yesterday?"

"With your friends. Mom and dad were confused-" then shuts up because of his younger brother's increasingly worried expression.

Kyungsoo sprints out of the house to do some damage control.

*

He is greeted by a chorus of laughter and hands that thump his back with enough force to make him cough up his lungs. Kyungsoo scowls in return and they fill him in with how they were utterly surprised by his behavior yesterday.

"I have never seen your eyes so wide. I mean, you have large eyes that look to be in a constant state of surprise but they were about to fall out, I swear," Jongdae elaborates with a chuckle.

Baekhyun chimes in: "it was like you didn't understand a word we said."

"Or that you had reverted to your middle school self." And of course Chanyeol would be the one clearest about the issue. Kyungsoo would rather not have such unpleasant thoughts the day after the start of a new year. But his friends remind him anyways of his awkward tendencies and the closed off self that refused to speak spare for nodding and answering in his one word economy.

"But it isn't so different from your usual self," Chanyeol concludes, placing both hands behind his head in that carefree way of his. This allows Kyungsoo to breathe a sigh of relief. He doesn't have much to fix. And given the tendencies of his friends, they will forget it once school starts up again.

 

**2014**

He wakes up to a world of white and chooses to shut his eyes again. Part of him expects his head to pound as a result of yesterdays. It isn't hard to remember why. The sky was bright and alive with color splashed onto a black canvas, accompanied by loud noises that indicated when it was set off as he and his friends took long sips of alcohol.

This bed is way too hard, seemingly new from the looks of it. Kyungsoo';s head is way too clear and he knows exactly why. It is January 1st and it is his third year not spending it with his family. And by the looks of this flat, it'll be his first year spending it all alone.

It takes courage and a thousand reasons for him to open his eyes once more. He takes about a minute or two studying the extremely exciting blank white ceiling above him before he finds the courage to swing his - well not exactly his - legs off the bed. The tiles are freezing according to his feet and his first instinct is to retract them back into the warmth of the bed. Instead, he flexes them so that toes, soles, and everything in between is touching the surface of the floor. It wakes him up.

Kyungsoo turns towards the source of light that indicates day. Light filters in through white drapes falling upon white marble and the occasional wooden furniture.

His tastes are simple. Kyungsoo can appreciate that. The room is decorated with only white, black, gray, or brown. In various shades of course. The flat is small. One bedroom, a kitchen, a living room, with the bonus of a balcony. All the necessities for a nice life, to be honest. Fit for an individual living alone.

His fingers slide across the kitchen counter. Smooth, polished, clean. The corner of his lips curl upwards at the sight of a well used kitchen. The home and hearth of every house. Part of him is tempted to rummage through the cabinets and prepare something but he is an intruder in the end. He settles for pressing his palms against the counter and imagining what it would be like to cook in that small space.

It is quickly interrupted by a phone call.

Kyungsoo picks it up without much thought only to realize his mistake when there is a woman on the end of the line speaking to him in English.

"Hey Kris~ you want to grab a bite?"

He panics so the most intelligent thing he can say is "...uhh." It is a good thing that there is a slip of paper not far from where the landline is and he swipes at it in hopes of something useful.

_Quick Guideline to Kris' Life_

Great.

  1. Expect a call from mom.
  2. To be safe, just don't pick up the phone.



Oops.

There are no further instructions and no indication of which individuals 'Kris' is supposed to be meeting and hanging out with. So he settles for improvisation.

"Sorry. I um have plans." He hopes it sounds apologetic or convincing enough.

"What plans?" and in his mind's eye he can see well-painted fingers twirling the cord of the telephone.

"Uh..." racking his brain trying to come up with a decent excuse and not ruin Kris' life in the meantime. Who knew if he was seeing someone or not? What if he messed up their relationship? That would be a burden Kyungsoo would be unhappy to shoulder. No one wants to be responsible for a bachelor.

He imagines the flattening of lips and impatient drumming against counters. "I'm visiting my mother today." Wow, now that really sounds like an excuse.

He expects some sort of backlash but instead gets a sigh. "Fine. Happy New Year." Kyungsoo echoes the holiday greeting before hanging up, visibly slumping against the wall after such an event and decides to go for some fresh air.

It is his first time out of the confines of the home. Quite refreshing but intimidating at the same time. He's not quite sure where he is except that it is in a city unlike that of Seoul. There are skyscrapers but none of them scale quite so high like the towers in his home country. The place includes much more green space for parks and the like. Only the center is jam packed with what is normality in his country. The rest are a collection of lower buildings, smaller in size until they branch out into the suburban area with two-story homes. The amount of space they have is incredible. It is not wrong to address his own house as a "rabbit hole" compared to what these people have.

Kyungsoo has always wanted to leave the country and travel to different places. One of the places on his list has always been Los Angeles, except he had never wanted to experience it this way.

*

Stars are twinkling when he finally heads back into Yifan's flat. Next time, he swears, he'll come when it is not a holiday. That's when Universal Studios is open, after all.

As he is about to prepare himself for sleep, he sees a piece of paper addressed to 도경수. Kyungsoo is pretty sure that it is a coincidence Yifan has picked up Korean in the year since he has been here.

His fingers brush the paper gently, as if trying to rid it off invisible dust before he settles down in a chair to read the contents. In it are apologies for his behavior during new years day last year. He probably didn't seem anything like 'Do Kyungsoo'.

_My name is Wu Yifan to my mother and elders. Kris is my English name. Feel free to address me as you like._

It is a stack of papers. Almost as if it was hastily compiled before falling to sleep, a forgotten thought only recalled at last minute. He carefully reads through them, taking note of the firm grasp of pen and the imprint of letters that march across the page in English.

There is a _Thank you for spending time with my mother. She didn't seem to find anything different._ A comment that tugged at the corner of Kyungsoo's heart.

The rest are continuations of one sentence: _I guess you ought to know a few things about me as well._ Pages upon pages that talk about details about his life as if a handbook to help Kyungsoo be 'Kris' for a day for the rest of his life. By this point, he fears that the "rest of his life" part is true.

Kyungsoo smiles and is glad that he too had left a typed up page of _How to be Do Kyungsoo 101_.

*

Silence hangs on a thin rope above the dinner table as Kyungsoo pushes his food around with a fork. His parents have always been quiet people but never silent. They do not have any words to say tonight. Instead, they keep chewing on their food, lost in thought. In the corner of his eyes, he sees Seungsoo fidget in his chair, clearly just as uncomfortable as Kyungsoo. His brother opts for shoveling food down his throat in order to escape from the table as soon as possible. Tension is obviously present in the way his mother yearns to speak her mind but is holding back.

Kyungsoo sets his fork down with an audible clang as means to break the ice. He hopes to make a point by staring intently at his parents.

His mother follows his action. "Kyungsoo," she begins, voice soft and wrought with worry. "Are you feeling ill?"

He shakes his head. "Not at all. Why do you ask?"

"Just worried." She offers a smile. "The past few years you seem to be feeling quite unwell. You've been silent at dinner tables and found more interest in food than in anything else. Two years ago, you seem not to know your own name. But it only happens on new years day." She adds as means to soothe the situation. Sweat builds up in his palms and Seungsoo seems to find the pattern of the floor much more interesting at this point.

"I must have been feeling ill," quickly conjuring up an excuse. He should have majored in acting. It is more of a necessary skill than calculus. "Allergies," he concludes.

"What possibly could you be allergic to?" Kyungsoo's father presses further.

" _Tteokguk_ ," he attempts, only to remember that it is also served during Lunar New Year.

"I won't force you to finish it next time." The statement only makes him feel guiltier by the minute. Now he is out of excuses for his behavior. He needs to revise the handbook and elaborate on the specific details.

 

**2015**

He wakes up to a very uncomfortable position with a very stiff neck. It doesn't take long before he realizes why. Kyungsoo is no longer in that pristine flat he was a year ago. He must be in a dorm or some hotel because these bed sheets are atrociously puke colored and there is no kitchen. The closet doors are wide open and he sees about a maximum of seven suits. Here to stay, but not for long.

The chair he was seated in was just as uncomfortable as it looked. His hands rub the back of his neck only to wince when metal rings slide across skin and dig a bit too deep and a bit too cold for preference. This is like 2013 all over again.

Another spreadsheet is open before him with enough numbers crammed into it to make his eyes swirl. He shuts the laptop, not before hitting the save button. This body needs rest. It is not going get younger. But then he recalls a phrase from last year.

_I'm a sports statistician. Couldn't bear to leave the field even after injuring myself._

He reopens the laptop and takes another glance at the numbers, careful not to mess anything up.

_I fell in love with basketball when I was ten and dreamed of playing in the NBA since then._

His eyes drift across the names of teams and individuals as he scrolls through the sheet. Yifan isn't particularly organized. Decently and after his own fashion but not like Kyungsoo where everything has its place. Only on the spreadsheet is there an imposed order.

_It was the next best thing._

It leaves him to wonder if his words were a fair exchange.

 _When I was young and listened to my mother sing lullabies, I wanted to become a singer. But after a few street performances with empty guitar cases and a few runny noses we decided to quit._ 'It was only a dream' was left out of the letter.

 _And then I watched my father measure and cut and labor over the stove. He became my hero and I wanted to become a chef._ He still does because there is nothing more rewarding in the world than seeing a smile of a delighted consumer.

 _I still don't know what to do with my life._ He doesn't have much time left to figure out. He still has more questions than answers. He tilts his head back and tries to think of something else, _anything else_.

Kyungsoo opts for getting up instead, shutting the laptop and taking a walk. The floorboards creak under his weight, the wooden floors are worn down by age. The ceilings are higher than he has ever expected. The door click shuts but requires extra effort to lock it.

It is a good thing he grabbed the coat draped over the back of his chair. It is freezing cold with a thick layer of snow outside. It isn't until he is outside does he remember that the other is traveler. The signs resemble English, the letters at least, but form gibberish. He's seen bits of Spanish and French to know that the words look vaguely representative of English but these - he stares at the street signs longer - make no sense. Kyungsoo heads back into the lobby of the hotel and is about to ask the person behind the counter of his whereabouts when his eyes fall upon brochures. _Shopping in Berlin_ printed in English featuring various districts and malls to shop till you drop.

 _Oh._ This all makes sense now. He dips his head slightly before heading back out and absorbs the city with his eyes. It doesn't matter that the skies aren't as blue or the sun is hardly as bright. Kyungsoo looks down at the large hands decorated by an extreme amount of rings. _Lucky bastard._

*

His parents greet him the next morning with smiles as bright as the sun. He must have been normal yesterday. A great relief.

His brother acknowledges his presence with a nod and a wink to say that the body switcher had nailed 'Kyungsoo' perfectly. Part of him questions whether or not it is a good thing. The other ponders over how easily he is figured out.

"Sora," addressing his fiancé, "took quite a liking to you yesterday."

And now an imposter has people liking him. Kyungsoo isn't quite sure what to make of that. "Did she not like me before?"

His brother makes a face. "Frankly, she feared that you disliked her."

"I would never..." considering how enchanted Seungsoo was by her despite the awkward first meeting. He's happy that the "accident" had caused some sort of development kin to one of a shojo manga and despite Seungsoo's ridiculous expressions - Kyungsoo is sincerely happy for him. Even more so now that he has finalized everything, except for the last step.

"I know, I know." There is that reassuring grin and a squeeze of shoulders. Kyungsoo finds himself smiling at the amount of confidence his brother has placed in him. Perhaps a third more than he would ever put in himself.

*

[09:59:48] GUYS, PLEASE HURRY TO OUR USUAL PLACE ASAP.

The amount of caps in that single line of text was more than enough to spur a gathering. Chanyeol, despite his loud tendencies, hardly ever used caps in text messages.

The gathering consisted of individuals about to burst with what had happened yesterday, eyes bright and cheeks pink, except for Kyungsoo.

"Yesterday, were you guys," all breaths held for the big reveal, accustomed to Chanyeol's dramatic relays, "in another body?"

"So I wasn't alone." Gushes of relief escape from two other lips as Kyungsoo's brows furrow. His friends then begin to discuss animatedly of yesterday's encounters, swapping experiences and the oddities of being within a female's body. Jongdae recognized the face immediately, Chanyeol talked about an exotic girl, and Baekhyun was pleased at how much she matched him in terms of looks.

Kyungsoo was lost in his own thoughts. Why did they only experience it now? What was the common factor in the odd behavior? The only similarity they have with each other is the year of birth. But by that indication, Kyungsoo should have experienced the body swap a year later. _Why?_

Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Jongdae are currently twenty-two years old, this Kyungsoo knows as a fact. How about Yifan? His ID states that he was born as a child of 1990, same as Seungsoo. This is Kyungsoo's fourth time experiencing this inexplicable encounter. By that calculation...

Twenty-two is the magic number. But it still doesn't explain why Kyungsoo was part of the exchange as well.

When eyes turn upon him, he lies again about a tall Asian _noona_ with lots of travel experience. Just to rub it in and have them jealous. Kyungsoo tops it off with a grin.

 

**2016**

Kyungsoo finds himself in a place far too familiar. After settling upon exploring the new place, he finds himself on the street and staring at signs. They are written in his native language. The stores and shops are familiar and the way the roads lead to other cities is an exact replica. The store at the corner is one he used to frequent with Seungsoo as a kid.

Kyungsoo takes another look around before it dawns on him. He's in his hometown.

_Fuck._

He crouches down to draw his knees to his chest as he buries his head. Very unsightly but he's too upset to care.

He never had thought that the other would come and try to visit. He pats himself only to find no slips of paper to dictate his behavior for the day. It was meant as a surprise.

_Fuck._

Yifan doesn't know about Kyungsoo's scholarship and study abroad program in Italy.

Why did he have to visit this year of all years?

Kyungsoo finds himself pacing around his own district. He is so close to home and can go back and celebrate New Years finally. Except he is in a stranger's body and they would never let him in no matter what he claims.

He heaves a great sigh and walks in the opposite direction.

*

Just before heading back to bed he rips off a piece of paper and tries to write as legibly as he can his phone numbers, labeling the one for Europe and his permanent one in Korea.

At the bottom of slip, he scrawls:

_Don't be a stranger._

With it, he leaves for the first time ever, a present addressed to 吳藝凡.

*

"Did you guys experience the same thing yesterday?" eager questions, hoping for gossip as Kyungsoo merely listens, refusing to partake in them.

Only Jongdae shakes his head. "I was with her all day as myself."

Baekhyun looks thoughtful. "Perhaps we switch bodies with our soulmates." It is a hypothesis of sorts.

"How do you know?" Kyungsoo questions, skeptical.

"She has perfect music taste," Chanyeol interjects with a goofy grin. "The best." Which says a lot because not many individuals can gain his approval. Chanyeol always emphasizes how lucky Kyungsoo is to be considered.

"That doesn't-"

"You feel it too don't you, Kyubgsoo?" cut off by Baekhyun's question. "The sensation that you two _belong_ with each other. Of course it extends past taste in music but there must be something that connects you to her."

Kyungsoo scrambles his head for something in common.

_Like you, I've always wanted to travel and experience the world._

Which one of them had written that?

Closing his eyes he can see belonging. This amount of understanding and knowledge, an echo of his own mind and soul, he can see one spending their entire life with another.

*

[21:37:42] Hey

[21:37:44] This is Wu Yifan.

[21:27:47] Kris.

Kyungsoo chuckles upon seeing the nervous texts before settling down to write his own.

[21:30:16] Don't worry. This is the right person.

*

It is easy to lose track of months when engrossed in a field one is interested in. The realization that a new year is about to begin dawns upon him when he is greeted by a text.

[13:12:14] London is such a dreary place, this time of the year. You're not going to like this.

Kyungsoo smiles at the complaint and replies with:  
[13:12:18] I'll make my own judgments thank you very much. On the other hand, you're going to love Italy.

 

**2018**

Kyungsoo comes to the conclusion that London is indeed dreadful this time of the year. He had enjoyed the entire day with the company of a black umbrella and a pair of black gloves. A good thing Yifan had prepared all the winter gear because it was way too cold to go sight seeing. He huffed out consistent breaths of smoke and amused himself with it before ducking into cafés.

*

Two years are up and he's long returned to Korea. The text messages are now an integral part of his life. Funny how adding one more to the list of six frequent callers and four active texters isn't as hard as he thought it would be. It becomes something as natural as breathing. But not quite yet.

Although the other has learned a fair amount of Korean, Kyungsoo tested that by speaking in Yifan's body and there is only a minor accent, and he has become decent in Mandarin, they still communicate in their first shared language.

It is the sixth of November when he sends the following text:

[10:22:37] Happy Birthday, old man!

He imagines what Yifan's face would look like upon reading such a text. Probably still all smiles.

[10:24:56] Thank you. You're not far behind yourself.

Kyungsoo chuckles and is about reply with questions about presents when his phone vibrates, notifying him of a text message.

[10:26:09] Do you think I could

It is a text sent prematurely and Kyungsoo can sense some face palming soon after it was sent.

[10:26:47] come by and visit?

Kyungsoo's heart palpitates of it's own accord as his fingers task themselves with the responsibility of responding.

[10:29:01] yes. Of course.

This is a terrible idea.

*

After the agreement, he starts to imagine bringing Yifan home to meet those important to Kyungsoo. It's funny how Yifan already knows them but none of them know Yifan.

He imagines his parents seeing a man at the door and understanding that this is not a coworker or anyone in that realm. Smiles would grace their lips but it would be distant and tight. Only behind layered eyes would Kyungsoo be able to see the disappointment that says _I knew this would happen._ Seungsoo probably wouldn't say a word and be courteous but think a million thoughts.

If Kyungsoo was lucky, his best friends would be fine and perhaps even accept Yifan as their own.

But he thinks about the poor lady all the way back in Canada all alone. He dreams of finally meeting her formally for the first time and although she would probably accept him... It is unfair that he deprive her of a normal life after all this hardship.

Kyungsoo is still not sure if he buys the whole 'soulmates' thing. He's never had a thing for males to begin with. Admiration is purely for aesthetic purposes. Besides, even if Do Kyungsoo wasn't entirely straight, from the times he's been in Yifan's body... He's pretty sure other is.

Sure, it's comfortable and as if he's known Yifan since forever. Kyungsoo would be lying if he said he wasn't excited to meet the other for the first time. But there are far too many 'buts' that has Kyungsoo regretting his reply.

 

**2019**

It is shockingly easy to identify the other in a crowd. He is like a beacon, especially with the earrings, rings, and blonde hair. Kyungsoo waves the ridiculous self made poster with **Wu Yifan** written upon it.

There's a smile as the giant heads towards Kyungsoo. He offers a simple greeting along the lines of "wasn't that cutting too close to New Year's day?"

His only response is a laugh that lights up Yifan's face.

"I came to the conclusion that we were in close proximity so we would be fine."

"I forgot that you were a math major." Dramatic eye roll before both lapse into silence.

It is an odd experience. He's been in that body multiple times so it is weird seeing it with a mind of it's own. He never knew Yifan was so tall. The others have it lucky, first awkward moment is enough to excuse the other ones as minor events.

"I believe we should introduce ourselves formally," Yifan begins before extending a hand and adding "Wu Yifan."

"Do Kyungsoo," and takes hold of the hand. It is larger than he imagined. He's not used to experiencing it like this. Yifan's hand engulfs his own. He can feel the calloused skin from basketball and lifting weights prickling against his skin. Finger pads are light against the smoother skin on the back of Yifan's hand with the occasional strand of hair. A watch ticks not far, settled on the elder's wrist. Hands are held in midair, far past appropriate timing.

They both stifle the urge to wrap the other into a hug as an excuse to explore and confirm that this is not a dream.

"I'm going to miss being in your body," Yifan jokes. Rather than rolling his eyes, Kyungsoo finds himself smiling a rare smile, one that stretches the corners and reveals his teeth. He sees the expression echoed in Yifan's face as well but with an enormous amount of gums. It looks ridiculous and perfect at the same time.

His hand has not retracted from the initial greeting and he finds himself thinking that Baekhyun may be right.

 

**Epilogue**

> **ENCROACH** , v.  
>  The first three nights we spent together, I couldn't sleep. I wasn't used to your breathing, your feet on my legs, your weight in the bed. In truth, I still sleep better when I'm alone. But now I allow that sleep isn't always the most important things.

 

The days bleed into one another until Kyungsoo can't pick them apart ever since he had invited Yifan over to his apartment. It's small, tiny really, decent enough for one individual and all he can afford as a striving chef in a decent Italian restaurant. Decent is the only descriptor that doesn't make the future seem so bleak.

Yifan seems crammed in here, long limbs and all, due to the low ceiling though quite a few feet away from the top of his head. A lot smaller than what the sports statistician is used to.

The other doesn't seem to mind, paying compliments and acting like a pure gentleman before settling down on the couch and attempting to fold himself into a smaller man. It doesn't work of course but Kyungsoo laughs at the sight.

He's not quite used to the presence of another individual in his apartment, to be honest. There are moments when he forgets and collides with another body in the kitchen, only large enough to turn around in. And times like this when both are sprawled in the couch and Yifan's leg is stretched across his own, typing away on his laptop as Kyungsoo reads, the weight tempts Kyungsoo to shake it off. Another part of himself stops him from doing so, relishing in the contact.

When the house is silent, and it often is, Kyungsoo is used to the ticking of the clock and the pace of his own breathing. Now there is an addition of another breathing sound, slightly too loud. He's not used to it but when he turns to find the other caved into his jet lag, he can't find it in himself to wake the other up. Kyungsoo observes during such moments of the bangs that flutter and frame his face and the long lashes that tremble due to a dream. He has a terrible urge to lean forward and press his lips to Yifan's eyelids, as means to kiss away the bad ones.

*

He can't sleep. He doesn't want to. Time is dwindling and Yifan has to return in a few days. So instead he allows the older male to fold Kyungsoo into his embrace. He stays there as he recalls the seamless fitting of two souls and bodies.

It does extend past taste in music. It incorporates dreams and wishes and a future together. It engrains itself in the physical body and the way he fits against the other, perfect. It bleeds into lifestyle where living with him is as easy as a fish in water. There is no stepping on toes but rather pieces falling into place and making sense. It has never felt more like home.

*

Kyungsoo lingers by the doorframe, acting as a body guard as he observes Yifan packing up. All necessities are crammed into a single carry-on and Kyungsoo finds himself wondering what it is like to travel around so much. It is a better thought, one that distracts him from a more pressing one.

The click signals the end and Kyungsoo finds himself clenching and unclenching his fists. He doesn't know what to say when the other looks up. This was not planned in the original simple request of that text.

"Can't you come?" It is quiet, timid, when it slips out from the other's lips. Kyungsoo looks around the house, a sad smile gracing his own.

"You know I can't." He wants to. But what he wants has no factor in this discussion. "My dreams. They-" he doesn't know how to continue. He has a million reasons. His family is here and he finally has a decent position and now working his way up to the top. It would be so much easier if he was a she instead. If Kyungsoo was a girl he could abandon his dreams for a better life with a husband. But part of him knows that even if he were a girl he still wouldn't let himself be so easily swept off his feet, would cling to his dreams like a lifeline. It's a nice thought he must admit, of traversing the world and experiencing it _together_

But he are selfish. Oh, so selfish.

Yifan nods in understanding, smiling but not as bright and nothing can hide that disappointment behind his eyes. He returns to fussing over his luggage and finally picking it up, ready to roll it out the door. Kyungsoo reaches and catches the cloth near the other's elbow. He's not sure why except that he wants the other to stay a fraction longer.

He can see in his mind's eye a diverge from this point. Two people too engrossed in their own lives to spare a thought. Texts becoming rarer until they settle for some other kind of life. He imagines of travels that never bring him quite back and a job that retrains him to his land. His heart palpitates but for all the wrong reasons this time.

The house will be empty and he will be lonely. He's been quite alone ever since Seungsoo made it official and is now on his way to a second child and all his friends have finally found their significant others.

Kyungsoo forgets what it is like to be alone in seven days.

His fists are clenched into tight balls as Yifan turns around to bid farewell in the entrance. He wants to say 再見 for emphasis but can't find the voice to.

Yifan's fingertips are centimeters from his face as if yearning to caress his cheek. And he would lean in if not for the storm within.

"What if I..." it comes out barely audible from the other's lips. "stayed?"

"You can't," Kyungsoo responds immediately only to regret when he sees the flinch of surprise and the hurt starting to form in the other's eyes.

"You have a good job and you have your mother back in Canada. This whole life you have right now is what you always wanted." He rambles more of a list of reasons why to himself than to Yifan.

" _Wanted_ ," the other emphasizes, "It was what I _wanted_. But what I want now is different. What I want now is," fingers gently prod his cheek as they rub circles into the skin, " _you_."

Under normal circumstances or if it was anyone else, Kyungsoo would have swatted it away as if he was allergic to emotions. Instead he mumbles, "you're so cheesy. Has no one ever told you that?"

"I don't say it to everyone."

Kyungsoo smiles and closes his eyes to process his thoughts. He thinks of how easily the other one has gotten to know him, how easily he had opened up to the other when they were technically strangers. He recalls the messages sent back and forth, as if they still had forever to go on about and that they would never stop learning about one another. He thinks of simple things like where dishes are placed and the usage of mugs. Then allows his mind to drift to how, despite the messy tendencies of the other individual, he has forgiven that and more. Even the slight growing stubble he fingers with some sort of fondness despite his lack of affection for facial hair. He knows he's going to regret it if he let's Yifan go.

"Please."

He has never pleaded anyone in his life before. Because of his physique he had always hated being weak and requesting for favors was an act of weakness. He despised owing favors and the like and yet now pleading the other. His lips twitch at the thought of how much change he is undertaking, hopefully for the better.

"Stay."

**Author's Note:**

> Most definitely going to revisit this someday because of inconsistencies and some unexplained parts.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos much appreciated!


End file.
